Luke 24,35-48 – Thursday between the Octave of Easter
We too, at times, have the feeling that Jesus is like a ghost, something evanescent, not very concrete, almost unreliable. The doubt passes through us that faith is an illusion, a consolatory construction rather than a reality. Today’s Gospel responds exactly to this fearthrough the appearance of the Risen One to the disciples. They too, seeing him, think they are looking at a ghost.
They are scared, disoriented. They can’t believe what they see. And it is precisely there that Jesus intervenes with disarming concreteness: «Look at my hands and my feet: it’s really me! Touch me and look; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you can see that I have.” And he even eats in front of them. It leaves no room for ambiguity. The Christian faith is not a vague idea, nor a passing emotion. It’s a fact. It is the encounter with a real presence. Jesus does not present himself as a symbol, but as someone who can be recognised, met and experienced. For this reason we should ask ourselves a serious question: is our faith still a fact or has it become just an emotion?
Because what is only emotional changes, shuts down, depends on the circumstances. What is real, however, endures. The Risen One does not immediately eliminate the doubts of the disciples, but educates them with his presence. And it leads them, step by step, to a more solid, less fragile faith, more anchored to reality. Perhaps we too need this passage: to emerge from a vague, indefinite faith to enter into a concrete relationship with Christ. Because only a faith that is based on a real encounter can hold up over time and trials.
